The Rambles of a RatBy: Unknown (1821-1893)

First Page:

"The old blind rat had a bit of stick in its mouth, and the pretty
black rat took the other end in his teeth." Page 25.]

THE RAMBLES OF A RAT.

by

A. L. O. E.

[Illustration: A NEW KIND OF WATCHDOG.

"Whiskerandos looked surprised at the unexpected defiance; but my
feelings of amazement can scarcely be conceived when I recognised
the dumpy form, blunt head, and piebald skin, of my lost brother
Oddity." Page 150.]

Let not my readers suppose that in writing THE RAMBLES OF A RAT I have
simply been blowing bubbles of fancy for their amusement, to divert them
during an idle hour. Like the hollow glass balls which children
delight in, my bubbles of fancy have something solid within them,
facts are enclosed in my fiction. I have indeed made rats talk, feel,
and reflect, as those little creatures certainly never did; but the
courage, presence of mind, fidelity, and kindness, which I have
attributed to my heroes, have been shown by real rats. Such adventures
as I have described have actually happened to them, unless they be those
recorded in the 19th chapter, for which I have no authority. For my
anecdotes of this much despised race I am principally indebted to an
interesting article on the subject which appeared in the "Quarterly
Review."

I would suggest to my readers how wide and delightful a field of
knowledge natural history must open to all, when there is so much to
interest and admire even in those animals which we usually regard with
contempt and disgust. The examination of the wondrous works of nature is
a study elevating as well as delightful; for the more deeply we search
into the wonders around us, the more clearly we discover the wisdom
which is displayed even in the lowest forms of creation!

A. L. O. E.

[Decoration]

CONTENTS

Chap. Page.

I. The Family of Rats 9
II. A Clap trap Discovery 15
III. Poorer than Rats 19
IV. How I made a Friend 26
V. How Bob met with an Adventure 33
VI. How I visited the Zoological Gardens 38
VII. Finding Relations 43
VIII. How I heard of Old Neighbours 51
IX. How we found a Feast 59
X. The want of a Dentist 67
XI. A Removal 74
XII. A New Road to Fame 79
XIII. How I set out on my Voyage 86
XIV. A Terrible Word 94
XV. First View of St. Petersburg 103
XVI. A Russian Kitchen 109
XVII. A Ramble over St. Petersburg 118
XVIII. How we were Transported 125
XIX. A Storm and its Consequences 132
XX. Catch him Dead or Alive! 137
XXI. A new kind of Watch dog 146
XXII. The Farmer and his Bride 153
XXIII. A Peep through the Roses 163

[Decoration]

[Illustration: A L O E]

THE RAMBLES OF A RAT.

CHAPTER I.

THE FAMILY OF RATS.

My very earliest recollection is of running about in a shed adjoining a
large warehouse, somewhere in the neighbourhood of Poplar, and close to
the River Thames, which thereabouts is certainly no silver stream.

A merry life we led of it in that shed, my seven brothers and I! It was
a sort of palace of rubbish, a mansion of odds and ends, where rats
might frolic and gambol, and play at hide and seek, to their hearts'
content... Continue reading book >>